Christian Vazquez draws comparison to the best

FORT MYERS — The question was posed to David Ross, a National Leaguer for all but one of his 12 big league seasons: With his squat body and howitzer of a throwing arm, does Red Sox prospect Christian Vazquez bring to mind longtime Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz?

FORT MYERS — The question was posed to David Ross, a National Leaguer for all but one of his 12 big league seasons: With his squat body and howitzer of a throwing arm, does Red Sox prospect Christian Vazquez bring to mind longtime Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz?

“To me,” Ross said, “he’s more like Yadi.”

There isn’t a higher compliment for a catcher, especially one who’s the sixth-youngest player in camp. Vazquez, 23, need not have grown up in Puerto Rico or worked out in the winter with Jose Molina to know that his little brother, Yadier, is the majors’ all-around best backstop.

But long before Yadier Molina was a five-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner for the St. Louis Cardinals or a top-five finisher in the last two NL MVP races, he demonstrated the aptitude behind the plate that has Vazquez turning heads this spring.

Take, for instance, the seventh inning Saturday when the Minnesota Twins’ Jermaine Mitchell tried to steal second base. Mitchell had no chance. By the Red Sox’ internal measurement, 1.86 seconds — a blink of the eye, literally — elapsed from the pitch hitting Vazquez’ mitt to his throw hitting the second baseman’s glove. The average big league catcher takes about 2 seconds.

It wasn’t an aberration either. Vazquez’ times are routinely in the 1.8 range, which can be described only this way: Yadi-like.

Vazquez is flattered by the comparison. He has idolized the Molina brothers — Yadier, Jose and Bengie — for years in Puerto Rico, an island that churns out major league catchers. The Molinas followed Benito Santiago, Sandy Alomar Jr., Javy Lopez, Jorge Posada and Pudge Rodriguez.

And now, Vazquez is poised to follow them.

“That’s a good thing, man,” Vazquez said yesterday. “I’m proud of that. I work for that, to get better every day. Yadi’s the best, and I want to be the best.”

And so, Vazquez has enlisted Jose Molina’s trainer for the past two offseasons and asks the Tampa Bay Rays catcher questions about techniques for improving behind the plate. The 38-year-old Molina sees so much promise that he happily passes along his knowledge.

Molina taught Vazquez to catch the ball closer to his body, which allowed him to be even faster with his throws to second base. He also stressed the importance of communicating with pitchers and building their trust.

“It’s mostly about his mindset, keeping him straight up and knowing that he’s just a step away from the big leagues,” said Molina, part of the Rays contingent that blanked the Sox, 8-0, at JetBlue Park. “With his talent, it could be any time. That situation is going to come once, and you don’t want to let it go.”

Indeed, it won’t be long now. The Sox could have re-signed free agent Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a multiyear deal, but that would have blocked Vazquez and 21-year-old prospect Blake Swihart, a former first-round pick with even more upside than Vazquez. Instead, they will open this season with a pair of 37-year-old catchers, and neither Ross nor A.J. Pierzynski are signed beyond this year.

Vazquez is a Pierzynski or Ross injury away from the majors, and with both catchers already hobbled, it’s easy to see Vazquez getting his chance sooner than later.

“This is a guy who, when we drafted him (in 2008), there was some difficulty getting him through a nine-inning game,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “(Now) he might be one of the premier catching prospects in the game.”

Pegged to open the season in Triple A, Vazquez batted .289 with five homers and a .766 OPS last year with Double-A Portland. The Sox know his offense will never catch up to his defense, and although Vazquez must prove he can do enough at the plate to stay in the majors, he also knows his work behind it ultimately will get him there.

“That’s my food — catching,” Vazquez said. “They don’t care if I’m hitting. Papi (David Ortiz) is the RBI guy. I need to catch the ball and call a good game to win.”

No wonder Vazquez is taking a crash course this spring on getting acquainted with the pitching staff, taking to heart Jose Molina’s advice to get to know pitchers like they’re “brothers.”

Speaking of which, Jose isn’t ready to compare Vazquez to Yadier. Not yet, at least. But that doesn’t mean he won’t get there.

As Ross says, “the sky’s the limit with what he’ll be able to accomplish.”

“I know my brother is the best behind the plate,” Molina said. “If Vazquez is following him, that’s awesome, man. That’s a good guy to follow.”